Mac Jones still remembers the night Tom Brady came back to New England, and not just because of the noise around it.
On Bussin' With The Boys this week, the former Patriots quarterback looked back on the 2021 matchup between New England and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a game he called one of the coolest experiences of his early NFL career. Jones was a rookie then, just four games into his pro life, and suddenly he was standing across from the man he was supposed to replace.
"That was lit. That was awesome," he said.
"They were calling it the game of the century. I just feel like the lead up was really cool.
It was a night game, sold out. Tickets were going for like, four, five thousand dollars."
Jones entered New England with the weight of being the 15th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and the expectation that he could become the long-term answer after Brady. He also joked that, technically, he had replaced Cam Newton after one season. Fresh off a national title at Alabama, he arrived with plenty of hype, and the Patriots were 1-2 heading into that game against Tampa Bay.
That’s when, in his words, the switch flipped.
"It's all about Tom and Tom and Tom and I'm like, 's---, I got nothing to lose here,'' he laughed. "I'm just gonna go out and sling it, and I did.
"I played decently well. That stadium, that was the most electric stadium I've been in because it was a good game back and forth."
The Patriots nearly pulled off the upset. They were down by two points late, and Jones helped push them into position for a possible win in the rain with a minute left. Then came the final chance: Nick Folk’s field goal try from 50-something yards that just missed.
"Nick Folk barely missed a 50-something yard field goal in the rain," Jones said, later mentioning how a drop - which he was later told was actually a tipped pass - could have gotten them even closer.
For Jones, the whole day felt like a blur of traffic, tickets, and the kind of pressure that comes with facing Brady in a primetime setting. He said he tried to block out the chaos and focus on the game, even after Brady stared him down before kickoff.
"I remember leading up to that game, I tried to minimize all the distractions," said Jones, who mentioned that Brady stared him down pre-game. "It definitely felt video game-ish ...
It was cool just walking out there. He had signs for him, and then I still had some signs and jerseys.
It was just cool."
Jones said he spent the day at the stadium in a private room with an air mattress, getting there early and staying put to lock in for Sunday Night Football.
"I rested hard that day, I rested really hard," he laughed.
Now 27, Jones spent three seasons in New England before being traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars ahead of the 2024 season. His time with the Patriots still draws plenty of attention, especially with Drake Maye now starting under the new coaching regime, but Jones said he still values the experience of being the guy charged with following Brady.
"Replacing Tom was definitely a narrative, and I try not to pay attention to it," Jones said. "I'm not Tom Brady, I never will be.
He's the best player to ever play. It was tough."
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